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Cemex loss deepens despite increased earnings 30 April 2014
Mexico: Cemex has announced that its net sales reached US$3.6bn in the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 8% compared to the same period of 2013. Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 3% year-on-year. The group made a net loss of US$293m for the quarter, a deterioration compared to a loss of US$281m in the first quarter of 2013.
Net sales in Cemex's operations in Mexico decreased by 6% in the first quarter of 2014 to US$737m, compared to US$780m in the first quarter of 2013. Operating EBITDA for the country decreased by 5% to US$250m versus the year-earlier period.
Cemex's operations in the United States reported net sales of US$792m in the first quarter of 2014, up by 8% from the same period in 2013. Operating EBITDA in the country increased by 48% to US$28m.
In Northern Europe, net sales for the first quarter of 2014 increased by 21% to US$912m, compared with US$756m in the first quarter of 2013. Operating EBITDA increased to US$13m in the quarter, versus a loss of US$17m in the same period of 2013.
First-quarter net sales in the group's Mediterranean region were US$412m, 19% higher than the US$347m taken during the first quarter of 2013. Operating EBITDA increased by 11% to US$81m.
Cemex's operations in South, Central America and the Caribbean reported net sales of US$538m during the first quarter of 2014, representing an increase of 8% over the same period of 2013. Operating EBITDA remained flat at US$187m.
Operations in Asia reported a 3% increase in net sales for the first quarter of 2014, to US$146m, versus the first quarter of 2013. Here, operating EBITDA for the quarter was US$26m, up by 8% year-on-year.
Fernando A González, Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration at Cemex, said, "We are pleased with the growth in our operating EBITDA during the quarter, on a like-to-like basis, adjusting for the seasonal maintenance and inventory-drawdown effects, which we expect will revert throughout the rest of the year. We also saw positive dynamics in consolidated volumes and prices for our main products."
China to stop production OPC 32.5 grade cement soon 30 April 2014
China: China intends to stop the production of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) 32.5 grade cement. Liu Ming, an official of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), made the comment at a forum according to the Xinhua news agency.
Stopping production of OPC 32.5 grade cement would reduce the country's total cement output by 340Mt/yr, accounting for 11% of the total output. The large amount of OPC 32.5 grade cement had led the overcapacity of the cement industry.
Turkey: Göltaş Goller Bolgesi Cimento has contracted Chinese company Catic Beijing Co to set up a waste heat recovery power plant for a cost of Euro14m. The plant is expected to be installed in two years and should reduce electricity costs by 25% when operational, according to Göltaş. The company's integrated cement plant is located in Turkey's southwestern province of Isparta
Sri Lanka: Work on a Thatta Cement project in Sri Lanka has ended because the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has not yet executed the Land Lease Agreement (LLA). Basic engineering for the cement grinding, storing and bagging plant has been completed but the project has been suspended pending legal issues.
Thatta Cement secretary Taha Hamdani has complained to capital market regulators about the SLPA also signing an agreement with another company whose operational area lies close to its cement project. It appears to obstruct setting up of the cement project within the layout originally planned by the SLPA. The company officials say further progress on the project would recommence 'as soon as LLA is signed with SLPA'.
Philippines: Cement sales rose by 8.6% in the first quarter of 2014. The surge was largely driven by rebuilding following the destruction wrought by typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, according to the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP). Cement producers sold 5.2Mt of cement in the first quarter of 2014 compared to 4.8Mt in the same period in 2013.
"The increase was primarily due to reconstruction efforts following super-typhoon Haiyan," said CEMAP president Ernesto Ordoñez in a phone interview with local media. He added that rebuilding is likely to drive cement sales for 'more than a year' and that private sector confidence was also helping sales.
Following typhoon Haiyan the government of the Philippines raised its budget for infrastructure in 2014 by 37% to US$9bn from US$6.6bn in 2013 to provide for rehabilitation and reconstruction in areas affected by the typhoon. In 2013 sales by the local cement industry grew by 6% to 19.4Mt/yr from 18.4Mt/yr in 2012.